You can save money and have a great house if you buy a fixer-upper, but only if you are prepared for the work it needs. Australians Karina and Craig Waters went to France and bought the Chateau de Gudanes, a 300-year-old 94-room neoclassical mansion in which no one had lived for many years. Restoring the chateau to its historic grandeur is a long-term project, which they are documenting on their blog, Chateau de Gudanes. Get an overview of their story and see wonderful photographs of the architectural details at Messy Nessy Chic.